


A Protector, A Guardian Angel

by AshWinterGray



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: A Helping Hand, Bad Parenting, F/M, Girl problems, Hair problems, Helpful Steve Harrington, How To Treat A Girl, I Swear All These Characters Are Canon, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Instead He Gives Hugs, Panic Attacks, Past Experinces, Problems, Racism, Rude Guys, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexism, Sickness, Steve Harrington Does It Right, Steve Harrington Is A Gentleman, Steve Harrington Is a Mess, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Steve Harrington Solves Problems, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, What is love, Will Byers Has Anxiety, drugs and alcohol, friendships, girls night, good character development, plus Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 06:09:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18424479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: Steve's changed quite a bit since that day he adopted six kids. At least, he'd like to think so. So when Carol and Tommy go through another "break-up" stage, and some creeps are eyeing his former friend, there is no way he is going to let them touch her. It starts with Carol, protecting her and shielding her from a bunch of creeps. But it just keeps going after that.





	A Protector, A Guardian Angel

**Author's Note:**

> The tags are long, but everyone listed is a canon character in some shape of form. Heather, Candice, Robin, and Winnie are all set to appear in season three.

            He wasn’t sure how they convinced him to do it, but here he was, at a party. He also wasn’t sure who put Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers in charge of his social life, but apparently, being friends with middle schoolers only wasn’t healthy. So, they two had decided he needed to get out more and had dragged him to a party. Jonathan looked just as uncomfortable as Steve felt, but they were both here now. And they were both watching Nancy get drunk, a little worried.

            “Oh, come on,” Nancy teased them. “Come on. Live a little.”

            “No offense, Nance,” Steve sighed. “But the last time I saw you drunk, you confessed you never loved me and had basically just been using me to cope with Barb’s death. Alcohol doesn’t have the same ring to it anymore.”

            Nancy instantly sober and went to settle against Jonathan’s side in surprise. He wasn’t really all that shocked about Nancy’s surprise, he hadn’t actually told anyone about quitting alcohol all together. He had told the kids when Dustin asked what alcohol tasted like.

            Well, technically, he had said “it tastes like despair and heart break and a bit of truth serum, and since I am never touching it again, none of you will ever be touching it.”

            That had been a very interesting conversation, and it took all of Steve’s strength to hold back Mike once Steve explained what happened on Halloween that got him to team up with Dustin. None of the kids had realized Steve and Nancy had broken up at the time. Dustin thought the flowers were just a nice gesture.

            “Don’t worry about it, Nancy,” Steve stated. “It’s probably a good thing that I quit telling him things. Something about liver failure.”

            That at least got Jonathan to snort in amusement. And Nancy gave a soft smile. Turning from his friends, Steve went back to observing the party. Billy was out back, doing another keg stand, which Steve no longer saw the point of. Honestly, Steve didn’t see a point in a lot of the things he used to do. He wanted to defend and protect, and that was it.

            “Uh oh,” Nancy called. “Tommy and Carol must have ‘broken up’ again.”

            Steve followed her gaze to see Carol dancing alone. She was in the crowd, but she was dancing alone. It made Steve sigh, this on and off again thing with Tommy and Carol. He used to be the one to get them to see sense, usually because the fights they had would be over stupid things. That wasn’t his job anymore. He glanced away, for just a moment, and caught something he wished he hadn’t.

            “And a bunch of creeps stalking the prey,” Steve hissed out.

            Now it was Nancy and Jonathan’s turn to follow Steve’s gaze. And there they were, a group of creeps eyeing Carol as she danced.

            “Should we do something?” Jonathan asked.

            “Yeah,” Steve stated. “Stay here.”

            “Steve,” Nancy tried to protest.

            But Steve was already going through the crowd of dancers. He quickly grabbed onto Carol’s hand and pulled her into a dance. Carol scowled at him, but Steve pulled her close so he could whisper in her ear.

            “You’ve got four pervs eyeing you,” Steve breathed just so she could hear over the music. “You don’t have to be friends with me anymore, but in memory of an old friendship, there is no way I am going to let you get raped.”

            He pulled back, looking into Carol’s startle faced, and then spun in her in a circle that had her suddenly laughing. He used to do this whenever Tommy was a jerk, or a girl said something cruel. He would dance her around like he was doing now. The two of them danced the night away, and Steve never left Carol’s side, even when Tommy was glaring daggers at him.

            As the party died down, Steve was planning on going home with Nancy and Jonathan, who had driven him here. But the creeps hadn’t left, and they were still eyeing Carol.

            “How do you feel about my guest room?” Steve whispered under his breath.

            Carol shot a wary look at the four men and pulled her keys from her pocket. “As long as I get the one closer to you. The other one has to many memories.”

            He was okay with that. So, Steve walked out of the house with his arm around Carol. Just as Steve expected, they were followed.

            “Casa Harrington!” Carol screamed out as they stepped out of the car. “It is good to be back!”

            The car sped off in an instance, and Steve laughed. That was one way to scare off creeps. As promised, Carol ran slept in the guest room, and then she spent Saturday morning at Steve’s place. He made sure she got home, and that her mother was home. Then he called that night to make sure no one had shown up Saturday night and Sunday.

            That following Monday, Tommy shoved Steve up against his own car. Steve wasn’t at all surprised.

            “What you trying to do, Harrington?” Tommy said, looking quite lethal. “Make a move on my girl after we broke up? Huh? Is that it? You’d really stoop so low?”

            “Back off, Tommy!”

            Both men, and the crowd that had formed, whipped their heads around to see a very furious Carol making her way toward Steve. In one fluid motion, she yanked Tommy off Steve with a strength neither boy had ever seen her use.

            “For your information, you jerk, Steve saved me at that party,” Carol spat, rounding on Tommy. “We may not have been friends for a year, but at least _he_ had the common decency to protect me from _your_ pervy friends.”

            Tommy looked both surprised and confused, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything as Carol kept going.

            “Let me guess, you broke up with me and then went a bragged to all your friends that you were single,” she jabbed her finger into his chest. “Congratulations, you basically told all your little friends that your sex toy was open. And some of your friends decided that meant they had the perfect chance to get a taste. So while you were partying, Steve being the decent person he has become saved me from being raped, risking a fight with you. So you can back off!”

            Everyone, including Steve, was left gaping as Carol stormed off.

            Steve just barely processed what happened when he blurted out. “I swear she stayed in the guest room.”

            He and Carol were not friends after that, but they held a respect for each other. And with the way Steve had ditched his former friend, that was the best he could have hoped for. It was enough.

\----------------------------

            It was one of those times when his parents were home, and they were being picky. Steve was already sporting a sore back from his father’s lectures and lessons on how to properly care for the house. Which had been spotless except for an old paint spill on the carpet that never came out after the painters messed up nearly thirteen years ago. But it had been enough for his drunk father to lash out. He hadn’t had time to grab his keys, so he was just walking around town in the dead of night, hoping Hopper wasn’t going to come and arrest him. He didn’t want to talk about why he was outside.

            _“Please!”_

            The cry startled Steve from his thoughts, followed by a muffled sob. He wasn’t sure where the sound came from, but he rounded the corner of a store to see two people, one against a wall, and another shoving the person against the wall. He recognized the figure against the wall. Ally, a girl in Nancy’s grade. She looked positively terrified as the man held her against the wall with his hand against her mouth and his body pressed to hers. And even from where Steve stood, he could smell the alcohol on the man.

            “Hey!”

            The man, sluggishly turned, still pressed against Ally, and that was all Steve needed. The man was slow, taking at least three minutes to even look at Steve. And by the time the guy had turned, Steve had slammed a trash can lid against the man’s face. He flew back ward, releasing his hold on Ally so she could crumble to the ground.

            “Run, Ally!” Steve called to her.

            The drunk man laughed, and Ally froze in terror. “Good hit kid, but you don’t need to fight me for a girl. I’ll share.”

            The tremble in Ally’s body was enough to get Steve’s adrenaline pumping, and he threw the man against the wall. The guy slumped to the ground unconscious, and Steve turned to Ally. Realizing he need to calm down, he slowly sunk down beside her and held his hands up in surrender.

            “I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised. “And I won’t touch you if you don’t want me too. But I want to help, if you’ll let me.”

            She was so scared, terrified, and Steve had no idea how the man might have touched her before he got there. He could guess by the way her pants looked funny and her shirt was beyond rumpled. But she looked at him, still shaking, and slowly reached out with one hand.

            “I’m going to give you my hand,” Steve informed gently, almost a whisper. “Not going to touch you without permission, just going to move my hand so that my palm is up, alright?”

            At her nod, he kept his hand close to his body, but far enough away as to not be too close. He didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. Her own hand fell into his, and he kept his hand flat as she gripped his hand in a vice grip.

            “Can I grab your hand back?” he asked, receiving a nod. “Okay, I’ve got to get you out of this place. Can you walk?”

            Ally shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes as she began to panic. Steve just offered soft whispers of reassurance as she lost it.

            “Okay, I’ll help, alright?” he offered as she tried to get ahold of herself. “I’m going to lift you up. Alright? Bridal style, or like a princess. Is that okay? I can get you out of here that way.”

            Her breath was still erratic, but she nodded and slowly wrapped her arms around Steve. Keeping his own movements slow, he explained all of his motions, pausing whenever she went stiff, and only continuing when she gave a nod. He didn’t ask what happened, didn’t ask if she was okay, and he wouldn’t let her speak. Not yet. He simply asked her to focus on her breathing.

            The moment Steve stepped out from behind the building with Ally in his arms, he debated what to do with her. He wasn’t sure if he should take her to a hospital, but he didn’t have his car. And he couldn’t let her go or leave her alone because he wasn’t sure how long that man was going to be unconscious. Chief Hopper’s blazer drove by before pulling to a screeching halt.

            “Hopper will help,” Steve soothed softly as Ally began to hyperventilate and cry again. “He’s a friend. He won’t hurt you, and he’ll lock that man away. You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

            “Harrington,” Hopper called, and winced as Ally let out a harsh sob.

            “Go around the corner,” Steve told Hopper, keeping his voice soft. “You’ll get your answer back there.”

            As promised, the man was locked away for attempted rape. The sentence wasn’t nearly long enough in Steve’s opinion, but he couldn’t say much else. He, gladly, was a witness for the trial, telling the court exactly what he saw, what he did, and what the man had said about an underage teenage girl. He nearly fought the apposing lawyer with his stupid claim of what Ally was wearing. But the man got sentenced, and Ally was getting help.

            Two weeks after the event, Ally came back to school and tackled Steve in a hug. He held her back, keeping his grip firm and gentle. She had a tendency to stay close to him on random occasions, and Steve couldn’t blame her. Sometime later, Nancy and Jonathan became safe people too, and Ally stayed close to the three.

\-----------------------------------

            Okay, Steve has dated a lot of girls in his life. A lot. And he was friends with Carol. So, he had heard many of the rants of girls and their problems and the stupid things they claim they do whenever they focus on other things. He couldn’t relate, not really, but he knew that they were often embarrassed by these events of woman-hood known as a period.

            He knew _very_ well about their struggles.

            So the moment he saw Heather is the hallway, wearing a white skirt, with an oddly placed red spot on the back, he was ripping off his jacket. Steve moved quickly, unsure if anyone else had seen. Heather let out a high-pitched gasp as Steve wrapped his jacket around her waist and tied it off from behind her.

            “You might want to go to the bathroom,” he whispered before she could turn around.

            She gaped at him for a moment, then looked embarrassed, then became panicked. Steve knew _that_ look too. He quickly tugged Heather along and stopped at his locker. When he had been friends with Carol, she had practically demanded that he and Tommy keep pads in his locker in case she had an emergency. It was just a thing they had to do, or she would cry and panic. He had never stopped the habit, especially when he realized that there were times Nancy would forget too.

            Heather watched in awe as Steve pulled out the pad and discretely handed it to her.

            “Thank you,” she squeaked and dashed off, Steve’s jacket still around her waist.

            It was after school that Steve found Heather again, and that was because he was looking for her.

            “Hey, Heather,” Steve called out to her. “Can I borrow you for a sec?”

            Heather looked embarrassed and quickly followed Steve around a corner and to the back of the school. She looked as if her death sentence had just been signed and was about to be executed.

            “Do you need someone to take you to the store?” he asked as soon as they were secluded.

            Heather gaped at him. “What?”

            “Well,” Steve shrugged casually, though he had only ever done this for Carol and Nancy. “I just know that this isn’t really fun for you girls, and that you can be in pain a lot. So, do you want me to take you to get chocolate, and pain meds, and I’ve heard fuzzy socks help too. I can take you to the store if you want?”

            “Really,” Heather breathed in disbelief. Then she stopped and nodded her head eagerly. “Yes, please. I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much.”

            They ended up going to Melvald’s and Steve bought everything, much to Heather’s protest. But Steve just grinned, greeted Joyce, and paid for everything as Joyce scanned the items. When Joyce offered a look, Steve shook his head, and one Joyce seemed to understand. Heather just watched the two of them as they fell into an easy conversation about random topics.

            As Steve and Heather left, the customer that had been behind the two stepped up with a grin.

            “Young love,” the woman smiled with a sigh.

            “Oh,” Joyce laughed. “No, she’s just his classmate. Her period started today, and he noticed so he gave her his jacket to hide it. If I read the situation right, the poor girl was out of necessities and Steve was kind enough to bring her to get some.”

            “Oh,” the woman gaped, then broke out into a grin.

            Steve had no idea it happened, but there were suddenly several phone calls that spread around Hawkins, Indiana among the gossipers. A rumor that Steve Harrington had shaped up and become an ideal man. And there were three stories to back it up.

\--------------------------------

            He was with the kids, getting gas as the kids used some of his cash to get snacks. They were driving a few towns over to go see some movie that wasn’t being shown at the Hawk. And knowing the kids, and the fact that it was an hour and thirty-minute drive, they needed to have snacks. And he needed gas too, so here he was, getting gas, waiting on kids, and observing his surroundings.

            “Just back off,” Nicole snapped.

            “Come on, babe,” some guy Steve didn’t care to know tried to sway her. “Just a little kiss.”

            Steve had not caught the beginning of this conversation, but he had caught the brunt middle of it. Nicole had been trying to get in her car, and the jerk wasn’t letting her. He was just about to head over when the kids came racing back.

            “We got lots of chocolate,” Dustin beamed at him, knowing Steve hated it when they ate too much chocolate. “And some sodas.”

            Steve was about to give a snappy retourt when Nicole cried out.

            “Get off me!” she screamed as the guy grabbed her arm and tried to yank her towards him.

            “If any of you guys treat a girl like that, I will disown you.” And with that comment, Steve marched over and shoved the guy off of Nicole. “I do believe she told you to back off,” Steve hissed. “So, back. Off.”

            “Wow, man,” the guy laughed. “I had her first. I believe you should back off.”

            Steve scowled and shoved the guy away again as he tried to grab Nicole again. Steve had enough. Keeping the guy away, he opened the door of Nicole’s car and shoved her inside. She cast him a smile as she drove off. The guy quickly gave a punch to Steve’s face.

            “You got a problem?” the guy demanded.

            “Yeah,” Steve rubbed his jaw. “I do have a problem. The lady said ‘no’ and ‘no’ means no. So you needed to have backed off.”

            The guy tried to throw another punch, but he was yanked back by someone else. Steve looked at the man and had to freeze so he wouldn’t laugh.

            “Would you like to tell me why you thought it a good idea to grab my daughter?” Nicole’s father growled at the teen he was holding. The guy yanked out of Nicole’s father’s hold and dashed away, leaving his car at the pump. “I’m going to key his car.”

            “If you don’t say anything, I won’t,” Steve chuckled. “Thank you for that, sir.”

            “No,” Nicole’s father shook his head. ‘Thank you. You’re a good man.”

            Steve chuckled, waved goodbye, and then went to where the kids were complaining they would be late for the movie. They arrived twenty minutes early.

\--------------------------------

            Steve had not been present for this one, but when both Heather and Ally came running at him as he and Jonathan were discussing what to do about Will’s problem with the cold, he knew something was wrong.

            “Do you have any really long jackets?” Heather rushed out.

            Steve blinked. “Did someone get their period again?”

            Both Heather and Ally shook their heads, still panting.

            “Billy’s new girlfriend thought Billy was eyeing Tina,” Ally rushed out quickly. “She’s been waiting for a chance to attack Tina, and she just dumped a water bottle all over Tina. And she was wearing a white shirt. It was completely see through.”

            Steve winced and moved to his locker. He didn’t have a jacket, having given it to Will that morning when he noticed the poor kid shivering and looking terrified. Which was why he had been talking about it with Jonathan that morning. Classes hadn’t started yet, but Dustin had wanted to be at school early, so Steve was also at school early. Steve did not have a jacket, but he had his fresh gym clothes. They were clean, thankfully, because it was Monday.

            “Afraid these are the best I’ve got,” Steve held them out to Ally and Heather. “I hope it helps.”

            Heather and Ally beamed as they raced away with the clothes.

            “Don’t you need those today?” Jonathan asked.

            “Yeah,” Steve sighed. “Coach is just going to have to bench me.”

            Steve did get benched when he walked into gym without gym clothes. He sat on the bottom step, watching the others play. Of course, being the jerks they were, they tossed teasing remarks at Steve. Steve had refused to say why he didn’t have his gym clothes, making the coach angry. And then, as the rest of the girls who had the class entered, Tina entered wearing Steve’s gym clothes. And she chose to sit right next to Steve, apologizing for getting him in trouble, and thanking him for lending her his clothes after the water incident. The coach told Steve he wasn’t going to be benched for the next game.

            “She seems interesting,” Steve chuckled as he saw the girl glaring at Tina. “I guess she’s the one who decided to embarrass you?”

            Tina blushed in embarrassment and nodded. Steve just offered her a smile, and went back to watching his team mates, scooting just a bit closer and hovering protectively.

            “Thank you,” Tina whispered to him.

\----------------------------------

            It was class time, and Steve was wandering the halls. Well, not really wandering. He was asked to take something down to the office in math, because it was by far his best subject and they were reviewing, and he was on his way back when he found Vicki sobbing in the hallway. He was going to just pass her, but he figured, with his current track record, she might have been attacked by a guy. So he approached her hesitantly.

            “Vicki?” he called softly. “Vicki, what’s wrong?”

            Vicki jolted, but she just shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

            “No,” Steve shook his head, sinking down beside her. “It can’t be that stupid. Come on. I promise I won’t make fun of you.”

            Vicki sniffed and tugged at her hair. “My hair looks awful,” she confessed. “I got a new hairspray, but it didn’t work, so I spent hours on my hair this morning and it turned out like this. I look hideous.”

            Her hair, was in fact, a frizzy mess. Sticking up in odd places and rather poofy on others, it was nothing like what Vicki normally prided herself with. And most of the girls Steve knew prided themselves on their hair. But Steve had also been taking care of the kids long enough to realize that their meltdowns were generally more than just whatever set them off. The same could clearly be said for Vicki. But Steve had also learned that fixing the little things often helped with the bigger things.

            “Got a hair tie?” Steve asked.

            She sniffed and passed him one, too upset to realize the oddity of the question. Now, Steve had been spending a lot of time babysitting El, and recently El and Max. Hopper wanted El to have some sort of female influence her age and Max was the only one they trusted that fit that description. Steve had learned a lot about “girl time” from the two. Like how to braid hair in several different styles.           

            “There you go,” Steve hummed, finishing Vicki’s hair with the ponytail. “Fraid I don’t have a mirror, but it isn’t frizzy anymore.”

            Vicki sort of froze as she felt her hair. “Did you French braid my hair? How do you know how to French braid someone’s hair?”

            “Middle schoolers,” Steve grumbled. “Very picky middle schoolers that I was asked to babysit.”

            Vickie was still gaping at him when Steve helped her to her feet and went back to math class. At lunch, Steve couldn’t help but smile as he saw a bunch of girls gush over Vicki’s hair. Max and El better be proud of him because he was pretty sure he just lost his man-card.

\----------------------------

            The first time Steve realized something was wrong, he had been in the park, just sort of relaxing in the fresh air. Being outside made Steve relax because he could tell the air wasn’t poisoned, and he could see that there was nothing white floating in the wind, and it wasn’t claustrophobic. He liked being outside because it reminded him the monsters were gone.

            But as he did far too often, he was observing when he saw an under classman. He didn’t know her name, just watched as she sobbed on a bench, a rose in her hand. She then proceeded to throw it on the ground, stand up, and stomp on it. She then sank back onto the bench. Steve was going to go ask her what was wrong.

            “Steve!” Dustin’s voice stopped him. “Steve! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

            Steve quickly glanced back at the bench to see the girl gone, and he frowned.

            “What’s up, buddy?” Steve sighed.

            “Will had another panic attack,” Dustin explained quickly. “A really bad one. He’s completely out of it. We’re trying to call him out of it but nothing’s working. You were the only person we couldn’t get ahold of.”

            Steve cursed under his breath, grabbed Dustin’s bike, and ran for the car. The girl had been forgotten at the time. Until the following Monday.

            “Did you hear about Marissa,” Ally was asking Nancy as they walked towards where Steve and Jonathan were pouring over a book on panic and anxiety attacks. They weren’t helping. “Her boyfriend cheated on her, and she found out but still wants to go back to him.”

            “Seriously?” Nancy bulked. “Why would anyone do that?”

            At one point, Steve would have asked Nancy the same thing. He held his tongue this time and tried to put a name to a face. He wasn’t getting one.

            He met Marissa that afternoon. The boyfriend who cheated on her was part of the basketball team, and Marissa sadly watched from the bleachers. It was the same girl Steve had seen in the park when Dustin came to get him.

            “She just keeps crawling back,” the boyfriend teased loudly. “And she’ll just keep crawling back, I’m the only one who loves her and no one else will ever feel that way.”

            Some of the guys laughed, but Steve was making his way to Marissa. Carol was there too, eyeing Steve with a look of recognition on her face. She stood up and walked towards Marissa too, who was looking very much dejected and called-out.

            “Come with us, sweetheart,” Carol cooed as she helped Marissa up.

            Coach’s threats fell on deaf ears as Steve and Carol escorted Marissa out of the gym. They ended up in the alley where Nancy and Steve “broke up” that first time. But Steve didn’t care about it now. This poor girl needed help, and he was going to give it.

            “Sweetheart, why do you put up with that?” Carol asked gently. “You can’t honestly believe what he says.”

            “But it’s true,” Marissa protested. “No one can love me. I’m a nobody, and he’s kind enough to give me his time.”

            “If Tommy ever said something like that to me, I’d knee him where it hurts,” Carol hissed, making Marissa flinch.

            “Hey,” Steve went soft with his tone. “Carol’s right. You shouldn’t believe what he says. He’s using you, and you don’t deserve that. You deserve to have someone love you for you, not because he thinks you’re his toy.”

            “No one can love me for me,” Marissa stated like a rehearsed script.

            “Alright,” Steve rocked back on his heels. “Let’s make a deal. One month, you stay away from that jerk, and we help you find someone who loves you. If we find someone who loves you for you, you never go anywhere near your ex and you have to forget everything he said about you. And if we can’t then you can go back to your ex or do whatever.”

            Marissa, with a lot of convincing on Steve’s part, agreed. Carol shot Steve a look that made Steve’s skin crawl. This was probably a terrible idea, but he was going to try. Carol, Steve, and Steve’s kids all tried to help. In fact, many of the girls in the school tried to help too. It wasn’t working, and they had a week left.

            “It’s hopeless, Steve,” Marissa tried for the billionth time. “Please just let me go back.”

            “Not till the end of the month,” Steve stated stubbornly. “You don’t need to keep putting up with him Marissa, and I honestly don’t know how to make you see that. I don’t know how to show you that someone can love you for you.”

            Marissa was about to reply when a sound disrupted them. They both turned to see a guy with dorky glasses and a lot of books sort of tripping their way towards them.

            “Um, hi, I’m Shawn,” the guy blushed, suddenly looking at Marissa then looking anywhere but her. “I, uh, I heard you and your boyfriend broke up, and well. Oh, I’m really bad at this, but here!”

            The last part was said with a bit of a shout, and he shoved flowers in her face. Quite aggressively, but it was kind of funny. Steve held back the laugh.

            “I think you’re really pretty!” he was practically screaming at her, but at least he was trying. “And when I heard you broke up with your boyfriend, I wanted to tell you, but I was so nervous because you’re beautiful and smart and really good at art! And I love your pictures! I think they’re great! And I was really nervous, but a little girl told me I should tell you! And so I got you flowers, but I’m not sure what you’ll do with them, and, oh, you’re Steve Harrington!”

            Steve laughed at that. He knew exactly who that little girl was. He had to remember to thank El later.

            “I think,” Steve turned to Marissa. “That our friend here is trying to awkwardly ask you out on a date.”

            “Yeah,” the guy nodded a bit to eagerly. “Yeah, I am! Unless you’re dating Steve, then I’m really sor-!”

            “No,” Steve cut him off. “Gavin, right? No, Marissa and I aren’t dating. And I’m pretty sure she would love to go on a date.”

            Marissa was too busy staring at Gavin in shock and holding the flowers to say anything. So she just nodded, a smile spreading on her face. Gavin beamed right back, a spring in his step after he kissed the back of her hand.

            Steve found out later that the date went well.

\--------------------------------

            “Alright!” Steve called. “Time out!”

            Being Captain had it’s perks, like calling a time out to ask one of his star players why he was acting like a kicked-puppy and playing a terrible scrimmage. And Jackson _never_ played a terrible scrimmage.

            “I’m not going to give you some pep talk about getting into the game,” Steve approached Jackson cautiously. “But what the heck, dude?”

            “Sorry, sorry,” Jackson sighed, looking as if he had just been defeated by an army and left to his guilt of survival. “It’s just, I asked a girl to prom, and she said yes. But then the other day she freaked out and said she couldn’t go.”

            Ah. Girl problems. It was no secret that Jackson was rather popular among the ladies. Not as popular as Billy Hargrove, but close enough that every girl wanted to date him. Only, Jackson didn’t want to sleep around. He was looking for a steady relationship.

            “I don’t know,” Jackson shrugged. “Maybe I could just sit this one out. Or, I don’t know, you could talk to her?”

            “Me?” Steve questioned. “Why me?”

            “Just, please,” Jackson breathed. “I really like her, and I don’t know what to do now, and it’s throwing me off.”

            Steve sighed, realizing he would help regardless. “What’s her name?”

            It didn’t take long for Steve to figure out what had happened to shy Winnie, Jackson’s crush. Several girls had found out that Winnie was going with Jackson and had proceeded to ruin her prom experience. There were some terrible remarks from the other girls and Steve had to nearly fight Hopper to get his plan to work.

            “Hello,” Max beamed at Winnie as she answered her door. “Come on, we don’t have a lot of time, and there are a lot of dresses to try on.”

            “What?” Winnie questioned, completely appealed as two middle school girls dragged her to where Steve waited by the car.

            The place Steve chose had kept a record of dresses bought for prom, and Winnie was clearly overwhelmed. As El and Max ushered her into a changing room, Steve thought back on the comments. A group of girls had cornered Winnie and basically told her that no matter what she wore to prom, she would be ugly, and that Jackson was only dating her out of pity. Which was entirely untrue because Jackson had flunked several basketball scrimmages since then. And Jackson never flunked a scrimmage. He always gave his best. It took hours of mixed reviews from the two girls and Steve’s occasional input before they found it. She was in tears when Steve dragged her to a phone booth, dress, shoes, and jewelry in hand. Plus a few extra recites.

            He instantly called Jackson.

            “The dress is blue,” Steve told Jackson over the phone, watching the two girls comfort Winnie as she sobbed in disbelief. “You have a dinner reservation at five, and the limo will be picking you up at six. You’re welcome.”

            Steve had another fight with Hopper that week, and a few weeks later, he was taking El to her first, and maybe only, prom of her life. She was in awe, and everyone found Steve’s out-of-town-babysitting-gig adorable. They both beamed at the sight of Jackson and Winnie enjoying themselves.

\----------------------------

            If there was one thing Steve could never bring himself to do, it was ditch a girl on a date. And he definitely wouldn’t stand her up. He was at the new burger joint, though he hadn’t cared to get the name. Benny had always made the best burgers and this new place just wasn’t up to par. But it was better than McDonalds, so that was nice.

            “Poor girl,” the waitress sighed as Steve waited for his to go order. “She’s been here for the last two hours and that boyfriend still hasn’t shown up.”

            Steve followed the waitresses gaze to see Cynthia sitting in a booth, spinning her straw in her nearly empty cup, and staring out the window. She looked depressed. Steve wracked his brain, recalling a memory of Cynthia saying she had a date with Billy Hargrove. It made Steve’s blood boil.

            “Could you change my order for here,” Steve stated. “It does appear I suddenly have a date but come around the table again. Cynthia doesn’t deserve this.”

            The waitress beamed at Steve, quickly running to the kitchen with the instructions and Steve made his way over to Cynthia. He’d dated her once, but they just weren’t each other’s type. She’d make a good friend though, and he still talked to her sometimes.

            “Sorry, I’m late babe,” Steve grinned, winking at Cynthia’s startled expression. “You will not believe what my mom made me do?”

            “Oh, he’s finally here,” the waitress showed up, grinning widely. “You showed be ashamed of yourself young man, making this poor girl wait. You’re lucky she didn’t leave.”

            “I know, I know,” Steve huffed. “It’s been a long night and I’d really just like to stay here with my girl if you don’t mind. It’ll help me relax, and I already feel terrible, you don’t need to be such a jerk about it.”

            The woman was doing her best to hide her smile, and it slowly dawned on Cynthia what Steve was doing. She smiled softly.

            “It’s okay, really,” Cynthia tried to soothe, reaching for Steve’s hand. “His parents are tough on him. That’s why I wait. He wouldn’t leave me hanging like that for no reason.”

            Steve winked again as they ordered. Cynthia was a really good person to talk to. She was fun, quirky, and knew some pretty funny jokes. Not a girlfriend, but a nice friend.

            “Thank you,” Cynthia breathed as Steve took her home that night. “Really, this means a lot.”

            “No problem,” Steve grinned. “See you tomorrow.”

            The waitress spread a lot more rumors about Steve after that. Good rumors. Not that Steve heard any of them.

\------------------------------------

            Steve had never met Mayor Kline’s secretary, but everyone knew Mayor Kline. So as he tried to get to the library to do some research on nightmares and trauma’s, he was not at all pleased with the crowd protesting a speech Mayor Kline was giving. The man was all show and no action. It made Steve sick.

            Speaking of sick, that woman off to the side near the library looked _awful._ Pushing through the crowd, Steve made it to the steps and turned to the girl.

            “Are you alright?” he asked just loud enough for her to hear. “You look terrible. Do you need to sit down?”

            “No,” she shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Really. Thank you, though.”

            She sounded awful too. Her voice was scratchy, her faces was unnaturally pale, and she looked as if she was going to throw up at any moment. Steve frowned, putting the back of his hand to her forehead. His hands weren’t that cool, but she eagerly leaned into the touch, seeking the coolness. This woman definitely had a fever.

            “Steve Harrington,” he offered, pulling his hand back. “Would you like to accompany me into the library? It’s probably cooler in there.”

            She shook her head. “I have to stay here,” she gestured to Mayor Kline. “I’m Candice by the way.”

            Oh. _Oh._ Steve had heard of Mayor Kline’s secretary from his father. The woman was a hard worker, but he also got the impression that Mayor Kline worked her a bit _too_ hard. He eyed Mayor Kline carefully, seizing him up as the man walked down the stage.

            “I thought you had a way for me to get out of here,” Mayor Kline hissed.

            But before Candice could respond, Steve snapped.

            “Well, if you had any common decency, you would realize your secretary is sick,” Steve snapped. “And because you appear to be oblivious to everything but your own vanity, you have been illegal slave driving her into the ground. So, the fact that your ride isn’t here is your fault.”

            “I’m sorry,” Mayor Kline laughed haughtily. “Who are you?”

            “Steve Harrington,” Steve grinned right back, eyes wild and challenging. “John Harrington’s son. You know, the hot shot rich guy who’s been supporting you campaign. I’d hate for him to find out that his biggest investment is doing things illegally. I’m sure this crowd would just _love_ to hear all about it too.”

            “You little rat,” Mayor Kline hissed.

            “What is it my father always says when he meets with you?” Steve tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Oh yeah,” in one fluid motion, Steve had ripped a portable phone away from Candice and shoved it at Mayor Kline. “He believes every man should know how to take care of himself. And the last I heard, you agreed with that statement.”

            Candice got time off, and Mayor Kline was forced to run his office and an entire town for a month. It didn’t go well at first, but he roughly got the hang of it. Steve would just laugh whenever he saw Mayor Kline, shaking his head at the man.

            Idiot.

\---------------------------

            Steve was shopping with Dustin for their D&D campaign. Well, Dustin and the other’s D&D campaign. Steve had just been roped into paying for all of their snacks and hosting them at his house for some reason. He supposed it had to do with his parents not being home and all of the space he had. El could come over to his house when his parents weren’t there. That had taken a lot of convincing. Though, honestly, Steve was pretty sure the whole reason that D&D was suddenly at Steve’s house was because Will calmed down when he had Steve’s soup. It was an odd discovery, but if it helped then they would take it.

            “Karen, have I told you how beautiful you are today,” a man’s voice called.

            Steve and Dustin turned into the next isle to see Karen Wheeler blush uncomfortably. The man in front of her was grinning, rather suggestively if Steve said so himself. Holly was there too, eyeing the man as she sat in the cart. She did not seem to like this man.

            “Don’t be shy, my love,” the man stepped forward and began to play with Karen’s hair. “It’s just us and your daughter. And she could be my daughter if you’d just leave that fool Ted.”

            “Robert,” Karen hissed, looking terrified. “Stop. Please. Don’t do this.”

            “Oh, but Karen, my dear,” Robert leaned closer. “We could be amazing.”

            “Mrs. Wheeler!” Steve called, pretending to turn the isle again and making the two separate. “Hey, I thought I heard your voice. Can I get your help with something? The kids are doing D&D at my house again and I’m trying to get snacks they’ll all agree on.”

            “Oh,” Karen breathed out in relief. “Yes. Yes of course. Here, I can show you what they’ll all eat.”

            “Thanks, Mrs. Wheeler,” Steve grinned as Dustin joined him. “I’d ask this guy, but I can’t trust him not to choose the snacks only he will eat.”

            “Hey,” Dustin protested.

            They quickly rounded the corner, leaving Robert behind.

            “That was close,” Steve whispered. “You okay, Mrs. Wheeler?”

            “Yes,” Karen sighed in relief. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, Steve, Dustin.”

            It was too much to hope that this Robert guy would leave Karen alone, so Steve and Dustin accompanied her around the stores, to the check out, and even followed her home just to be sure. Robert, apparently, was an ex-boyfriend of Karen’s from high school, and he had never taken the break-up well. He constantly stalked Karen and cornered her when they were alone. Holly had learned to dislike Mr. Robert for touching her mom. Steve learned this from Joyce, and Hopper agreed to look into it.

            What Steve didn’t know was that Karen was apart of the rumor mill. So her story got around quickly too.

\----------------------------

            He was at another party and was completely confused because there were a lot of girls hitting on him. It was all very confusing, and Nancy was not helping. Neither was Jonathan. He was going to hit them. Not really, but their knowing smirks were getting obnoxious.

            “If one more girl hits on me-”

            Steve stopped, his gaze landing on a guy trying to discretely shove some sort of powder into a cup. Curse his new observing abilities. He knew what that was, so he turned away from Nancy and Jonathan and followed the guy as he drunkly weaved through the crowd.

            “Here you go,” he offered to a girl, Robin, if Steve remembered correctly. “You’re first drink.”

            “Her first drink!” Steve protested, pretending to be drunk. “You can’t give her that, man.” Steve quickly grabbed the cup from Robin and handed it back to the guy. “You drink that. You’ve got to give a lady a real drink. Come on, I’ll show you a real drink.”

            He quickly led Robin away, leaving the guy scowling. But he must have been really drunk because he started chugging the drink. Then after a few moments, he collapsed to the floor. Steve winced, and steered Robin farther away as she gaped.

            “You need to be careful about accepting drinks,” Steve told her. “Some men are jerks.”

            “And the great, Steve Harrington, is suddenly civil,” Robin mocked.

            Steve scoffed. “I’ll admit, I was a real jerk,” he confessed as he handed Robin an unopened can of soda. “But that’s not really my thing anymore. And I would never try to drug a lady. Ever. Everything I did was by consent.” Steve stopped for a moment, hand hovering over his own unopened soda. “That sounded way better in my hand.”

            “I’ll bet,” Robin hummed. “I heard you were bad at English, but you just seem bad at words.”

            He wasn’t sure what made him do it, but he stuck his tongue out at Robin. She was obnoxious.

            “Thank you,” she muttered. “For saving me.”

            Steve grinned. She seemed nice too. Sassy and nice, an odd but nice mix.

\----------------------------

            It was only the morning on a Saturday, and it had already been a long day. A very long day. First of all, he was beyond sore because Hopper insisted he start learning to fight properly because he kept losing fights to people. He could whack a Demogorgon around as often as he liked, but he couldn’t stand up to a human being? What was up with that? But to add to that, Steve had gone all over town trying to find Jonathan a birthday gift. He and Nancy and Mrs. Byers had stayed up all night arguing and discussing who would be getting Jonathan what before they finally divided the three things Jonathan wanted. And it had taken Steve three hours to locate a copy of the new Clash album that Jonathan wanted. But the darn thing had been exclusive, and Steve was just sore and tired.

            No rest for the weary. That was what Steve was coming to learn.

            “Leave my mom alone!” a voice that sounded very much like Erica Sinclair shouted.

            “Back off you little runt,” a hard slap rang out.

            Steve looked to his left to see Neil Hargrove gripping Mrs. Sinclair’s arm tightly and his hand lowering. Erica was on the ground, holding her cheek. Neil was standing in front of what was unmistakably the Sinclair’s car. A nice car compared to Neil Hargrove’s beat down thing. Steve saw where this was going.

            “You leave my baby alone,” Mrs. Sinclair tried to yank free.

            Mr. Hargrove only strengthened his grip. “You freaks don’t belong! We don’t want your kind here! Go back to the dirt, you filthy animals!”

            He raised his hand to strike, but he was yanked back.

            “The only person with a problem here is you, Mr. Hargrove,” Steve spat. “So I suggested you back off and leave them alone. The Sinclair’s are a respected family here, and Mr. Sinclair is a well known lawyer. So back off.”

            He spun to help Erica up and checked both women over. Thankfully, a crowd had formed, all eyeing Mr. Sinclair, and it looked like Tina was in a nearby phone booth. Hopefully calling the police

            “You both alright?” he asked quickly.

            “I’m okay,” Erica said, looking as defiant as ever.

            “Thank you, Steve,” Mrs. Sinclair breathed. “I think we’ll both be okay.”

            Steve nodded, taking in the bruises on Erica’s face and Mrs. Sinclair’s wrist. He needed to get them something for that. Both were bound to hurt way more once the adrenaline died down. He had been on the other side of a Hargrove’s anger. He knew what it felt like.

            “Let me just-”

            The thought was never finished as Steve was yanked back by his shirt. In a split second, Steve was spun around, and his face forced to slam into the hood of Mrs. Sinclair’s car. There were shouts all around, but Steve was just busy trying not to choke on the blood leaking from his nose and staying conscious. It was no easy feat.

            “Come on, kid,” Hopper coaxed him, and Steve used that sound as a life line to stay awake. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

            “Nuh ‘ospi’al,” Steve managed to get out.

            “I know, Steve,” Hopper confirmed, speaking a bit rushed but gently. “No hospitals. I know. But I need to fix your nose. Come on. I got you.”

            Much to the crowd’s protest, Steve did not go to the hospital. However, Erica Sinclair determined that Steve was her new favorite person. It was agreed that as long as Erica agreed to keep El a secret (for now) then she could join the girls-night-plus-Steve nights. She agreed, though she asked a lot of questions. Mrs. Sinclair gave Steve several gifts he had no idea what to do with, so he may have handed them out to the girls in his school. Erica didn’t blame him. Neither did Lucas. They both agreed to keep it quiet. On the plus side, Neil Hargrove was in jail, and Billy was leaving him alone. Now if only his nose would stop being broken.

\-------------------------------

            “What am I going to do with you?”

            Steve said it with fond exasperation as he carefully cleaned the bruises on Max’s arm and dabbed at the cut on her cheek. A guy had been hitting on her for months, stalking her. Just an hour ago, the jerk had demanded she break up with Lucas and date him. Max said no. When that didn’t work, he grabbed her and threw her into a locker. Threatened her. She still refused and tried to leave. It was only after he cut her with a pencil and punched a teacher did Max punch back. The teachers, all female plus Mr. Clarke, were on Max’s side. They had seen her say no several times before she punched, and it was in self-defense.

            Hopper had been called to discuss with the boy’s parents about assault and threatening to send their son the juvie. The kid, as of the moment, was suspended and maybe even expelled. Steve had been with El and Hopper at the time of the call and so Steve was helping Max. Susan Hargrove was in the other room, looking frazzled and unable to look at her daughter.

            “I felt useless,” Lucas grumbled bitterly.

            “Nah,” Max grinned at him, wincing as her cheek stung. “I probably would have beat him up sooner if you guys weren’t there.”

            There had been AV club after school, and the guy had waited for her. For them. And Max was literally the only person in the party who could throw a punch. Though, El did throw a mean punch-ish-thing when she was using her powers. But she hadn’t been there.

            “She won’t look at me,” Max grumbled.

            Steve stopped, turning to stare at Susan through the glass. “You’re mom’s an idiot,” Steve stated firmly, locking eyes with Max. “No matter what anyone tells you, this was not your fault. Remember that. Alright. That jerk is at fault. Not you. And if your mother or Billy says otherwise, you let me know.”       

            “Billy’s been nicer since you got his dad arrested,” Max whispered softly, kind of lost by this thought. “He’d probably be on my side. I think Billy was mean to me so that Neil wouldn’t be mean to me. And I don’t think he likes my mom because she would have just watched.”

            Steve had been wondering about that. He hated that this was how he got an answer.

            “Where the heck is she!” a unmistakable growl rang out.

            “Yeah,” Steve laughed, hearing the protective tone in Billy’s voice. “He’s on your side.”

            “Max,” Billy breathed, as Steve stepped out of the way. Billy instantly sank down in front of her, glaring at the cut. “I’ll kill him.”

            So this was the real Billy Hargrove. It’s amazing what terrible parents could drag out of a child and hide away other things at the same time.

\------------------------------

            The first week El was officially let out, the Party got her. But that following Monday, Steve took her straight to the library. He pulled several books off the shelf and placed them before her on a table in the corner. All were books he had looked for over the last week.

            “I want you to know what love is,” Steve stated to her as he motioned to the eight books on the table. “All love.”

            El watched, clearly ready to learn as she always was.

            “Everyone is always under the impression that there are many types of love,” Steve told her softly. “Romantic love, family love, friend love, love for an object. But, really love is all the same thing.”

            “How?” El asked flipping through the books.

            “Because love is a commitment,” Steve told her. “When you love someone, there is usually a feeling. Like when you and Mike first fell in love and kissed. Like when you realized Hopper cared for you as his daughter. Like when you saw your mom and Aunt Becky. When you found your sister. The feeling is never the same, and that is why it is a commitment and not an emotion.”

            “A commitment?”

            Steve couldn’t stop smiling. “Yes, because, one day, maybe not soon, you will look at Mike and realize that feeling isn’t as strong.”

            El looked positively panicked at that thought.

            “But if you really love him,” Steve continued, stopping her from saying anything, “then you will search until you find that feeling again. That’s the problem with people today. They get so wrapped up in the feeling, that when it goes away, they believe they have to move on. But really, you just need to get to know someone. Look, this book here says that you can know a person from birth to death and never know everything about them. Which means between the two of you, you and Mike have secrets you don’t realize you hold that will lead the two of you to keep loving each other.”

            El looked at the book, then watched as Steve flipped open two more books that said similar things.

            “Love is a commitment because you have to promise each other that every day, you will do everything in your power to keep finding that feeling even when it goes away.”

            “Do you love me?” El asked after a moment.

            “Yeah, El,” Steve nodded, looking into her vibrant brown eyes. “I love you so very much. You’re the little sister I never got to have and I want to look after you and love you as only a brother can.”

            El smiled, tears in her eyes. “I love you too, big brother.”

\-------------------------

            “It’s weird,” Steve told Nancy one day, close to graduation. “Girls are suddenly trying to date me again. And I have no idea why.”

            Nancy looked positively exasperated.

            “Steve, you have been protecting girls ever since that plate smashed over your head,” Nancy told him firmly. “You are like the guardian angel for every girl in Hawkins.”

            “That’s ridiculous,” Steve scoffed. “Now what do you need?”

            “A pad,” Nancy stated.

            Steve laughed and handed Nancy a pad and a chocolate bar. It was good to be prepared.

**Author's Note:**

> Still looking for prompts for Steve and the kids.


End file.
